Flushing device



Patented Sept. '20, I898.

W. SCOTT.

FLUSHING DEVICE.

(Application file l Mar. 28, 1898.)

(No Model.)

llwrrnn STATES PATENT T mon,

WILLIAM scoTT, ornnnronn, MASSACHUSETTS.

FLUSHING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 610,977, dated September 20, 1898.

Application filed March 28, 1898. Serial No. 675,361. (No model.) I

T0 60% whom it may concern.-

Be it known that LWILLIAM 800m, of Med ford, county of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Flushing Devices, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

The present invention relates to a flushingtank and is embodied in a tank of the socalled valveless type, in which the outflow is produced by siphonic action through the agency of a stand-pipe and a vertically-movable inclosing case or bell, as it may be called, inclosing or covering the said standpipe. In a tank of this type the water is normally retained at a level somewhat below the top of the stand-pipe, so that normally it will not flow out. of the tank, the outflow being produced by causing siphonic action within the bell, which action continues until air is admitted to the bell, which occurs in tanks of the class as usually constructed when the level of the water has fallen below the mouth of the bell. It has been found, however, that when the tank is provided with a supply-inlet or ball-cock of sufficient capacity to refill the same promptly it frequently happens that the air entering below the bell will not be suificient in volume to fully break the siphonic action before the water again rises in the tank and shuts out the air, the siphonic action thus being checked to a certain extent,

but nevertheless continuing and preventing the refilling of the'tank. Furthermore, even if the tank is arranged so that the siphonic action does become broken with sufficient certainty, as by reducing the supply from the ball-cock, the device is not well suited for bowls which require a considerable refillafter the flushing operation-such, for example, as siphon-bowls-in which it is necessary to have a supplemental comparatively small volume of water run into the bowl after the main rush of water, which has caused the bowl to empty, has ceased, M

It is the object of the present invention to so arrange the flushing device that the checking of the siphonic action above described maybe utilized after the main flushing operation is finished to refill the bowl, and to further provide means for completely breaking the siphonic action after such reduced flow has continued for apredetermined interval of time, to thus completely stop the outflow and permit the tank to refill. This is accom- ,plished in accordance with the present invention by providing the bellwith a main inlet, through which the Water from the main tank enters during the flushing operation, the said inlet being so proportioned, however, with relation to the tank-supply or ball-cock that the siphonic action will only be checked and not wholly arrested when the level of the water in the tank falls below said inlet, as above described. In this way sufficient air is ad- ;mitted to the bell to check the outflow therefrom; but before enough has been admitted to completely break the siphonic action the the main inlet, so that the water will flow into the bell through the same less rapidly than it does through the main inlet; but as soon as the level of the water in the supplemental chamber has fallen to the level of the supplemental inlet air will be admitted therethrough', thus completely breaking the siphonic acti0n.= The saidsupplemental chamber is so arranged that the water flowing into the main tank will not enter the same until it has risen to a level materially above that of the main inlet to the bell, so that no checked or impeded siphonic action likethat at the main inlet is possible at the supplemental inlet. The bell is further preferably provided with another inlet havinga tube extending therefrom upward into the interior of the bell and terminating at a point. above the stand-pipe, the said inlet also communicating with the said supplemental chamber, so that as soon as it is uncovered the air will pass directly into the top of the bell and at once break the Siphonic action.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of a flushingtank embodying the invention, and Fig. 2 a top plan view of the same.

The tank a, which may be of any suitable or usual construction, is adapted to be supplied in the usual way by means of a ballcock Z9 and is provided with a stand-pipe a the top of which is above the normal Waterlevel, so that under normal conditions no water will flow out therefrom. The said standpipe constitutes the flushing-outlet and communicates with the service-pipe (not herein shown) in any suitable or usual way to produce an outflow through the said stand-pipe for the flushing operation. The said standpipe is surrounded or covered byabell c,open at the bottom and closed at the top, the said bell preferably having, as shown, a flaring mouth. Under normal conditions the water stands at the same level within and without the bell, so that if the said bell is lifted and then dropped the water will be splashed or otherwise forced up over the stand-pipe a and in flowing down from the same will suck out or exhaust the air within the bell, thus producing siphonic action, which will be continuous until sufficient air is admitted to break the siphon. The said bell is supported in a supplemental chamber or receptacle cl, having inlets 61 through the bottom thereof, through which inlets the water from the main tank can enter and fill the bell, the said inlets forming the sole communication between the tank proper and the bell after the siphonio action is started. The said inlets are shown as controlled by the disk valve (Z which is normally closed, as shown, and thereby adapted to confine the water below the bell when said bell is dropped, and thus insure the lifting or splashing of the water over the standpipe, the said valve, however, opening freely to permit the water to flowin. The said valve is shown as controlled in its upward movement by shoulders a on the stand-pipe a to prevent it from being sucked up into the month of the bell far enough to engage the walls thereof, and thereby prevent the inflow of the water.

The supply-chamber (Z is herein shown as a cup open at the top, the diameter of said cup being slightly larger than that of the bell and incidentally affording a guide for said bell in its longitudinal movement and also confining the water around the same as it drops, thus aiding in lifting the mass of water within the bell. The main object of the said supplemental chamber, however, is to afford means for completely breaking the siphonic action at a predetermined time, the bell for this purpose being provided with one or more supplemental inlets, as c and 0 which communicate with the supplemental chamber only. In order to prevent communication between said bell and said chamber apart from that by the inlets, the mouth of the bell is shown as having a substantially watertight fit on the lower wall of the chamber, so

that when said bell is in its normal position substantially no Water can get into the bell directly from the supplemental chamber otherwise than through the aforesaid inlet or inlets, which are of proper capacity to determine the rate of flow therethrough.

The inlet 0 is shown as provided with a tubular passage 0 leading upward into the interior of the bell and terminating near the top thereof, so that as soon as the water in the supplemental chamber falls below the inlet 0 air will pass through the tube into the space in the top of the bell without mixing with the flowing water and will at once break the siphonic action.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The tank being full of water, when the bell is lifted and dropped, as above described, siphonic action will be started and the water will flow continuously from the main tank through the inlet-openings d into the bell and out through the stand-pipe. As soon as the level in the main tank has fallen below the inlet 61 however, air will be admitted therethrough with the flowing water, thus checking siphonic action, but not preventing the same, since the moment the outflow is checked from the bell the inflow into the tank through the tank-supply will again submerge the inlets cl the result being that a practically continuous outflow is maintained, but of much less volume than when the siphonic action was first set up. This partiallychecked outflow will cause the bowl to be properly refilled; but it is obviously necessary that the flow should be wholly stopped after a predetermined interval of time. This is controlled by the action of the water in the supplemental chamber d, which is continuously flowing into the bell through the supplemental inlets, so that as soon as the said inlets are uncovered (there being no further supply of water in the said supplemental chamber) air is admitted, which will break the siphonic action. At the time the air is admitted, however, it is obvious that the bell is full of water, so that the air rising from the supplemental inlet will be carried along in the water and much of it will be drawn down the stand-pipe, so that even though there is not any more water in the said supplemental chamber the siphonic action may not be stopped at once. To insure the prompt breaking of the siphonic action at the desired time, therefore, it is desirable to provide one of the inlets with a tube, as shown, to afford a direct air-passage leading toward the top of the bell, and as soon as the said illlet is uncovered the siphonic action will be promptly broken.

The duration of the checked siphonic action depends, of course, upon the capacity of the supplemental inlets, and while it is not essential that there should be more than one inlet (preferably theone having the tubular passage) it is desirable to manufacture the bells with the tubular inlets of uniform size IIO 610,977 r i s plying said tank, a supplemental chamber,

and an inlet to said bell from said supplemental chamber, substantially as and for the purpose described. a

2. In a flushing-tank, the combination with the stand-pipe, of an inclosing bell, means for lifting and dropping the said bell to produce siphonic action, means for supplying said main tank, a main inlet to said bell from the said main tank, a supplemental chamber for said bell, an inlet from said chamber to said bell, said inlet being below the normal water-level of said chamber, and a tubular passage within the bell extending from said inlet upward, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In a flushing device, the combination with the tank provided with a stand-pipe a of the inclosing bell c, and means for producing a vertical movement thereof, the inlets d and valve d the supplemental chamber, the inlets c and c from said supplemental chamber to said bell, and the tube 0 extending upward into the interior of the bell, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. I

WVILLIAM SCOTT.

NVitnesses:

H. J. LIVERMORE, NANCY P. FORD. 

